Container



Patented June 20, 1944 Jerome J. Blum, Olean, V

Fibre F (lleang'N. comration ot-New York' fs lldsnoriol'lle Yea' sppueraon apen 1e, ruiz.' serai No. ma@ s (a ,y

This invention relates to a novel protective container. and particularly to a preformed seamless, waterproof container, essentially of fibrous material and a thermoplastic binder. particular my novel container comprises a tubular outer body or'envelope portion having an integrally formed bottomand a complementary cap or cover .providedwith an integrally formed top, the wholebeing composed of fibrous pulp andi a thermoplastic binderr having good waterproofing qualities, the respective parts being consolidated and compressed under heat to form a dense,rigid body wherein the binder and nbers are uniformly distributed in an interlocking engagement.

Among the particular uses for which my novel preformed container is adapted is in connection with the packing, storage, and shipment of ordnance materials, that is, my container is .particularly adapted for protection during transit and storage of allsizes and types of artillery, naval and aircraft ammunition, bombs and fuses. I

The containers heretofore used for such purposes were made of various types of paper board spirally wound on a mandrel, and to all intent and purpose similar to tubes wound of fibrous material used for mailing tubes and the like constructed fibrous cans and containers. Closure of such containers in use is effected by means of a cap at either end made of tin-plated sheetl metal or the like material, which is clamped or crimped to the open ends of the paper or fibrous tube. For the purpose of making such tubes moisture repellant common practice has been to resort to such expedients as immersing the mailing type tube container subsequent to packaging in hot parailin, asphalt, etc. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art lthat such treatment by impregnation does not impart uniform-qualities nor does it permit of a high degree to impregnation with the moistureprooiing agent, that it does not improve the structural qualities of the container, and that due to the present emergency the use of tin-plate due to the shortage thereof must be avoided or entirely eliminated.

It is therefore an object of my invention-to provide a novel container suitable particularly for the uses hereinbefore 'set forth which is formed of cheap and abundant materials, is economical toV manufacture, which isfdevoid of metals of any kind and yet withal `due to the composition and method of manufacture thereof is waterproof to a high degree, is of a dense composition and rigid construction and has good resistance to a highrange oficondltions ofboth climate datant v Other' objects relating `to the component materials. the' method of formation 'and composi` tion, the resultant physical and structuralv characteristics', thefdetallsjof construction and arrangement of be apparent upon a' consideration of -tlze'- following-specification and drawing' whichV for the purpose ofl'ill'ustration illustrates one spe'ciilc'fformv 'of container construction' adapted for packing a 37 mm. sneu; although it win be understood thatin its broader aspect my novel container is not restricted to all of the `details'shown or to the specific use illustrated; y'

Fig.' l is` a 'longitudinal section of my novel container andthe assembled component parts thereof. t Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l. f

Fig. 3 is aperspective view 'of the'container cap, with parts broken away.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the inner liner and cap retaining mem-v ber Il.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view with parts broken away of the relatively short tubular positioning and supporting member I2.

Fig. 6 is a lfragmentary sectional view of the top portion of the container illustrated in Fig. '1. and a fragmentary view of the flange end of a packed shell.

Referring to tne'arewing, lo indicates che outer tubularenvelope or body of my novel container provided with an integrally formed bottom closure II. Within thetubular outer body portion I0 and resting on the bottoml I thereof, is nested a relatively short tubular porting member I2 provided with an integrally formed inwardly projecting annular flange I3.'

Additionally nested within and telescopically engaged with the outer tubular body portion I0 is l a second tubular liner member I4. ThisI tubular member I 4 is likewise provided with an integral inwardly projecting flange I5 similar tothe annular flange I3, the openings being the same or of substantially the same diameter, thet'ube Il being positioned within the outer body lIii' inA a manner whereby the'flange I5 abuts-against and coincides with the flange I3. of the lower member I2. `'I'he tube Il is of a length'such that when it rests upon the relatively shorter tube I 2, its open end extends beyond and outwardly of the lip of the outer tube III. For the purpose of closing the container body. a cap I6 is provided having an integrally formed top I1, the

positioning yand sup' of the various synthetic or natural thermoplas- 1 tic binders or resins and is preferably of various types of synthetic or natural bitumens or mixl tures thereof, the fibrous material being. prefer-l ably paper stock and for the present purpose waste paper stock is suitable. In general in accordance with one well known process, there is first formed a preliminary mass of slightly wet fibers and binder, and after an intimate admix- Ature of theviberand binder. is formedin a suitable device such asa Werner-'Pileider mixer, water is added and the mass transferred to Aa. beater Htov reduce .itV to Vtlie form' of a workable pulp,

after -which further water is added to form an aqueous pulp of about 21% solids consistency. In forming my brous-bituminous composition, .I

.may employ a pre-mix, of 30 to 50%.and preferably 40% of waste lpaper stock -by dry weight, togetherwith 50. to 10 and preferably,.60% of bituminous material.

, Theresumng dilute smeris then deposited by a conventional accretion 'method on' foraminous f'orms by either vacuum or suction to build up the parts to a desired thicknessand of Atheir approximate shapes, after which. they are Iremoved from the forming membersand placed in ovens and thoroughly dried. After such drying, they are subjected to repressing treatment to bring them to denite shape and dimension. This is accomplished by subjecting the` parts to pressure in dies heated from about 250to 350 F. and preferably about 325 F. and at a .pressure of from about 500 to about 1000 pounds per square inch, depending upon the component materials and the resultant desired finish.

A preferred composition composed of approximately 40% waste paper stock by dry weight and approxmately,60% of bitumen, accretion felted, oven dried and then pressed and consolidated in dies at a. temperature of about 325 F. vand a pressure of from about 500 to about 1000 pounds per square inch, will withstand a strainof about 3 pounds per point per square inch, or a pressure of approximately 3'15 pounds per square inch for a part of 1/8 inch thickness.

The resultant iinished products are thoroughly waterproof and will not warp or deteriorate after long exposure to the elements. They willA also retain their shape at temperatures ranging up -to about 175 F. and are not appreciably affected as to size either by heat or cold at temperatures ranging from about freezing to about 125 F.

Due tothe fact that this material is thermoplastic and waterproofed with an inert substance, it will not .become brittle except at sub-zero temperature, and exhaustive tests have shown that it will not absorb moisture above approximately 5% regardless ofatmospheric humidity, and like water immersion test indicates that there is no greater water absorption.

As illustrated in the drawing, and particularly in connection with the specific form of my novel container illustrated thereby, the dotted lines in Fig. 1 illustrate a 37 mm. shell packed in my container. It will likewise be evident that the container illustrated in the drawing and the speciilc insert portions thereof are specifically adapted for the packaging of the illustrated shell. Thus the length of the container is substantially that of the shell and the inner diameter of the liner I4 is substantially that of the shell casing I8 at its largest diameter. The widths of the flange I"Ii-of therelatively short positioning member I2 land"the width off-the flange. I5 of theliner member Il are such as to permit passage therethrough .of the projectile portion I9 of the shell and the portion thereof engaged by the collar of the casing. The respective flanges I 3 and I5 are sized `in. `a manner whereby they snugly fit and limit :passage of :thentapered portion 20 of the shell casing. For this purpose the opening left by the flange I5l rmay be. slightly larger than the openin'gleft by 'the flange I3, and it will be readily seen that by reason of the provision of annular flanges I3. and I5. support is given to the projectile end of the shell in `a lateral direction and at the same time the weight of the'enti're shell when the container ispositioned upright is distributed over a largesurface area-byreason of 'support given by means of the ilanges I3 and I5, and in this manner added protection is -given to ordnance provided with detonation' means in the projectile. y

It will alsol be notedthat in the event the ilange end-2| of the shell is ofa largerdiameter than the casing portion I8, and by reason of `the'close fit of the liner .I4 about the casing Il,

the flange 2l comes to rest at the outer open end of the inner liner Il and the shell is thereby additionally supported. When the `peripheral edge lof the liner Il is made use of in such manner, the depthof the cap I6 will be slightly greater than the outwardly extending length of the liner I4 so as to permit the peripheral edge of the cap to come into close contact with the peripheral edge of the -outer body portion III. In order to fully protect the contents of the container, the meeting edges of the cap I6 and the outer body I0 may be sealed for example by means of a strip of adhesive tape 22. A container thus constructed is waterproof and is not affected by changes in temperature and humidity, and if exposed to the elements will last indennitely and will not deteriorate. It can be wholly immersed in water and if properly sealed, the contents will not be affected in any manner whatsoever.

Although in the foregoing description of my invention I have specifically shown a container adapted for the packaging of a 37 mm. shell, it will be obvious that my invention is not restricted to the detailed construction or arrangement of parts shown, or for the packaging of the specific article of vordnance illustrated. Thus in the broader sense my invention comprises a fibrous container comprising a body portion having an integrally formed body and side walls. and a complementary cap having integrally formed top .and side walls, each of the said portions being seamless andfcomposed of .a homogeneous composition of felted fibers and thermoplastic binder, preferably a bituminous binder such as asphalt.. It will also be understood that although as shown in the drawing, use is preferably made of a liner member whereby the cap may be mounted in flush engagement with the main body portion of the container, and thereby facilitating accomplishment of the waterproofing seal, the cap may be of greater diameter thanthe container body and extend thereover. It will also be evident that although as shown and described, my article positioning and supporting means contained within the outer container body is composed of two portions each provided with an annular ange, only the lower portion may be provided with such iiange if desired. It will likewise be apparent that the component inner positioning and supporting liner members may comprise one or more than two portions, and that the positioning liner or supporting portions thereof may be of diierent shapes or contours to seat and laterally and longitudinally support the article which it is desired to pack and protect.

I claim as my invention:

1. -A waterproof, rigid, brous container comprising a tubular outer body portion having an integrally formed bottom, a relatively short tubular positioning and supporting member having an integrally formed radially inwardly extending annular top nested within said body portion, and a second tubular member telescopically engaged within said body portion in abutment with said annular top and projecting outwardly from the mouth of said body portion, and a cap having an. integrally formed top in engagement with and extending over the outward projecting poro tion of said second tubular member, each of said portions being seamless and composed wholly of a rigid dense homogeneous combination of fibrous pulp and a thermoplastic binder.

2. A waterproof, rigid, brous container comprising a tubular outer body portion having an integrally formed bottom, a. relatively short tubular positioning and supporting member having an integrally formed radially inwardly extending annular lianged top nested within said body portion, and a second tubular member telescopically engaged within said body portion having an integrally formed radially inwardly extending annular anged base complementary to and in abutment with said annular top and projecting outwardly from the mouth of said body portion, and a vcap having an integrally formed top in engagement with and extending over the outward projecting portion of said second tubular member to the upper defining edge of and flush with the surface of the tubular outer body portion, each of said portions being seamless and composed wholly of a rigid dense homogeneous combination of iibrous pulp and a thermoplastic binder.

3. A waterproof, rigid, fibrous container comprising an outer tubular body portion having an integrally formed bottom and complementary cap of equal cross-section having an integrally formed top, and means nested in and telescopically engaged with said container for supporting said cap, comprising a relatively short tubular member positioned at the base of said body portion and'having an integrally formed radially inwardly extending annular flanged top and a second tubular member having an integrally formed radially inwardly extending annular flanged bottom complementary to and in abut ment with said annular top and projecting from said body portion into said cap, each of said component portions being composed wholly of a consolidated homogeneous combination of brous pulp and a bituminous binder.

JEROME J. BLUM. 

